Bryn Athyn station

Last updated
Bryn Athyn
Bryn Athyn Station.JPG
Bryn Athyn station, 2006
General information
Location2586 Fetters Mill Road
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009
Coordinates 40°07′49″N75°04′15″W / 40.1302°N 75.0708°W / 40.1302; -75.0708
Owned bySEPTA
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
Parking20 spaces
History
Opened1902 (RDG)
ClosedJanuary 18, 1983 [1]
Electrifiedno
Former services
Preceding station SEPTA.svg SEPTA Following station
Huntingdon Valley
toward Reading Terminal
Newtown Line County Line
toward Newtown
Preceding station Reading Railroad Following station
Huntingdon Valley
toward Philadelphia
Newtown Branch Woodmont
toward Newtown

Bryn Athyn station is a former railroad station in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Built by the Reading Railroad, it later served SEPTA's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. It is located on Fetters Mill Road near the Pennypack Creek. The station is a contributing property to the Fetter's Mill Village Historic District. [2]

Contents

History

Bryn Athyn station, built in 1902, was a stop on the Reading Railroad's Newtown Line. On December 5, 1921, the stretch of single track between the Bryn Athyn and Southampton stations was the site of the Reading Railroad's deadliest accident at that time. Two trains met in a head-on collision in a narrow gully after the signals for the northbound train were ignored. The crash killed 26 and injured 70 train passengers and crewmen. [3] The route later became a part of SEPTA's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. The station and all of those north of Fox Chase were closed on January 18, 1983. [1]

In addition, a labor dispute began within the SEPTA organization when the transit operator inherited 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail. SEPTA insisted on using transit operators from the Broad Street Subway to operate Fox Chase-Newtown diesel trains, while Conrail requested that railroad engineers run the service. When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains. [4] Service in the diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and Bryn Athyn station still appears in publicly posted tariffs. [5]

Though rail service was initially replaced with a Fox Chase-Newtown shuttle bus, patronage remained light, and service was later cancelled. Surviving trackage was replaced with the Pennypack Trail rail trail. [6] [7]

Station building

The building is currently used as a post office and community building. The former station canopy retains SEPTA signage installed in 1984 — one year after train service had ended.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania</span> Home Rule Municipality in Pennsylvania, United States

Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons from Moreland Township on February 8, 1916. Bryn Athyn is surrounded by Lower Moreland Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEPTA Regional Rail</span> Commuter rail service in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite towns and cities. It is the sixth-busiest commuter railroad in the United States, and the busiest outside of the New York, Chicago, and Boston metropolitan areas. In 2016, the Regional Rail system had an average of 132,000 daily riders and 118,800 daily riders as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walnut Hill station (SEPTA)</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Walnut Hill station is a defunct SEPTA Regional Rail station in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Located on Moredon Road, it served the Fox Chase/Newtown Line. SEPTA closed the station in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon Valley station</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Huntingdon Valley station is a former SEPTA Regional Rail station in Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. It was located on Terwood Road near Old Welsh Road and served the Fox Chase/Newtown Line. SEPTA closed the station in 1983, and the shelter was subsequently demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Line station (SEPTA Regional Rail)</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

County Line station is a derelict SEPTA Regional Rail station in Upper Southampton Township, Pennsylvania. It served a now-abandoned segment of the Fox Chase Line, and was located on County Line Road near the County Line Industrial Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton station (Pennsylvania)</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Southampton station is a former railroad station in Southampton, Pennsylvania. Built by the Reading Railroad in 1892, it later served SEPTA Regional Rail's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. SEPTA closed the station along with several others in 1983. It is located on Second Street Pike (PA-232) near Knowles Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchville station</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Churchville station is a former train station in Churchville, Pennsylvania. Still owned by SEPTA and located on Knowles Avenue and Bustleton Pike, it is now a leased private residence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holland station (SEPTA)</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Holland station is a defunct railroad station in Holland, Pennsylvania. Located on Holland Road, it served the Reading Railroad and later SEPTA Regional Rail's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. SEPTA cancelled railroad service in 1983; buses continued to stop at the station in 1999, and the facility was subsequently demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George School station</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

George School station is a defunct railroad station at George School, a private Quaker boarding and day high school in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The original station was built by the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad in 1893 and burned in 1905. It was replaced with a station that was moved from Huntingdon Valley, further down the Newtown Branch. That station was demolished in 1971. A cinder 'platform' was used as a flagstop by both the Reading Railroad and SEPTA Regional Rail. SEPTA closed the station and several others in 1983 when train service was suspended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown station (SEPTA)</span> Railway station in Pennsylvania, United States

Newtown station is a defunct railroad station in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Built by the Reading Railroad, it later served SEPTA Regional Rail's Fox Chase/Newtown Line. SEPTA closed the station in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania</span> Village in Pennsylvania, United States

Huntingdon Valley is a village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township all in Montgomery County, and in small sections of Upper Southampton Township and Lower Southampton Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, bordering the Fox Chase, Bustleton, and Somerton sections of Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad was a railroad in southeastern Pennsylvania that is now a part of the SEPTA commuter rail system as the Fox Chase Branch. Despite the name, it only ever extended between Philadelphia and Newtown, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warminster Line</span> SEPTA Regional Rail service

The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster, and Center City Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, including the Lansdale/Doylestown Line, West Trenton Line, Fox Chase Line, Chestnut Hill East Line, and Manayunk/Norristown Line. All trains continue as part of the Airport Line with the exception of some weekday trains that terminate at 30th Street Station, Thorndale, or Trenton Transit Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Trenton Line</span> SEPTA regional rail line

The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Chase Line</span> SEPTA Regional Rail service

The Fox Chase Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase. It uses the Fox Chase Branch, which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirely within the city of Philadelphia. The line is fully grade-separated, except for one grade crossing on Oxford Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut Hill West Line</span> SEPTA Regional Rail line

The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, as well as West Mount Airy and Germantown, to Center City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennypack Trail</span> Multi-use trail in Southeast Pennsylvania

The Pennypack Trail is a rail trail located in eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The trail runs 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from Rockledge north to the County Line Road border with Bucks County in Huntingdon Valley along the former alignment of SEPTA's Fox Chase-Newtown Line. The trail is maintained by the Montgomery County Division of Parks, Trails, & Historic Sites.

The Fox Chase Branch, formerly the Newtown Branch, is a railway line in the state of Pennsylvania. It runs 4.9 miles (7.9 km) from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line near Wayne Junction to Fox Chase. At its fullest extent, it continued another fifteen miles north to Newtown. The oldest part of it was built in 1876 by the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad. It was part of the Reading Company system from 1879 until 1976. Today it is owned by SEPTA and hosts the Fox Chase Line commuter rail service.

The New York Short Line was a railway line in Pennsylvania. It was operated by the Reading Company and built by the New York Short Line Railroad, a subsidiary. It was opened in 1906 to provide a more direct route between Philadelphia and New York City, bypassing the existing route via Jenkintown. The line was conveyed to Conrail in 1976 and is now part of the Trenton Subdivision of CSX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pottsville Line</span>

The Pottsville Line was a commuter rail service in the Delaware Valley, connecting Pottsville, Reading, and Pottstown with Philadelphia. It was the last vestige of passenger service on the former Reading main line. The service lasted into the SEPTA era and was discontinued in 1981. SEPTA continues to operate Manayunk/Norristown Line commuter trains between Philadelphia and Norristown.

References

  1. 1 2 Kennedy, Sara (October 21, 1983). "SEPTA to Boost Rail Service 13%". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 1–2. Retrieved July 14, 2020– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. ↑ Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (3/2/1934 - ) (June 2005). Pennsylvania SP Fetter's Mill Village Historic District. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Pennsylvania, 1964 - 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "21 Persons Killed in Reading Wreck" (PDF). The New York Times. December 6, 1921. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  4. ↑ Tulsky, Fredric N. (January 29, 1982). "Conrail Staff Must Run Trains: court ruling bars SEPTA takeover". The Philadelphia Inquirer. SEPTA must use Conrail workers rather than its own personnel to run trains over the region's 13 commuter lines, a special federal court has ruled in a decision that offers some job assurance for 1,700 Conrail employees next year. The special court, in an opinion issued Wednesday, ruled that SEPTA had acted legally in October when it replaced Conrail workers with its former subway operators on the line.
  5. ↑ "Tariff No. 154 - Supplement No. 37" (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. March 6, 2009. pp. 4–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  6. ↑ Nussbaum, Paul (March 23, 2014). "Montco plans to convert more of rail line for recreation". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.septa.org/about/board/agenda-12-10-13.pdf Archived 2014-01-06 at the Wayback Machine SEPTA Board meeting minutes; December 10, 2013


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.